Cream Cheese Chantilly Cake filled with fresh berries are what summer dreams are made of! The vanilla sponge cake is moist, airy, and made with staple ingredients. The cream cheese Chantilly frosting is light and decadent and pairs perfectly with the berries. This cake is perfect for summer bbqs. I can’t wait to make this cake and lemon bundt cakes all summer long!
Not a cake decorator? Then this is the perfect recipe for you! It looks stunning and impressive, but it takes virtually no skill to decorate. Looks can be very deceiving in the baking world.
What is sponge cake?
Cakes are classified into two categories: butter cakes and foam cakes. A sponge cake is a type of foam cake that traditionally gets its light texture from a high proportion of eggs and little to no fat and leavening in the cake. My vanilla sponge cake breaks tradition a bit as I include butter and baking powder. I find it helps keep my cakes stable when layering them as I did in this cake!
What is Chantilly?
Chantilly sounds like something that’s extremely fancy and difficult to make, but don’t let the name deceive you. It’s simply whipped cream that’s sweetened more than your typical whipped cream! It originated in Chantilly, France, hence the name.
Gentilly is a whipped cream with cream cheese and mascarpone added. This Chantilly also veers from tradition and is somewhat of a cross between the two. I’m a big believer in cream cheese making everything better, and I couldn’t help but to add it to my Chantilly cream! Want to impress your friends at a party? Sound like a fancy cake boss and bring a Chantilly frosted cake!
Cream Cheese Chantilly Cake Ingredient Line Up
If you’re a frequent reader, then you know my recipes typically only include pantry staple ingredients. This recipe is no different!
- Unsalted butter, room temperature
- Large eggs
- Milk – Whole milk is best, but 2% will work. Stay away from anything lower in fat!
- Sugar
- Pure vanilla extract
- All purpose flour – You can also use two cups of Cake flour in lieu of all purpose. Just make sure you omit the cornstarch.
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Cornstarch
- Cream cheese – Block style
- Heavy whipping cream
- Berries – Use a variety of your favorite berries to layer in between the cakes!
Tips for Cream Cheese Chantilly Cake Success
- Make sure all of your cake ingredients are room temperature! It is especially important for this sponge cake because the texture will be more dense and the ingredients will not incorporate if they are cold.
- Sift the dry ingredients together! This makes the cake nice and light. Do not skip this step!
- Use baking strips to ensure flat cake layers! You don’t want to have to trim the tops of this cake since the outside will not be frosted. They are affordable and my most used baking accesory.
- Use a clean dish towel to lightly press down on the warm cake tops if they dome while baking. Make sure you do this when the layers are hot right out of the oven. Be careful and do not press hard. The tops should go level a bit!
- Use a cold bowl and whisk attachment when making your cream cheese Chantilly becuase whipped cream likes a cold environment!
- Read the recipe instructions before beginning! It seems like a no brainer, but we often want to jump right into it. This cake is not made in the traditional cream the butter and sugar fashion, so make sure you know the steps before starting!
Cream Cheese Chantilly Cake
Ingredients
Vanilla Sponge Cake
- 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 4 eggs room temperature
- 1/2 cup milk room temperature
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Chantilly Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese block style
- 3/4 cup sugar granulated or confectioners
- 1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Filling
- assorted berries
Instructions
Vanilla Sponge Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350F and grease three 6” round pans or two 8” round pans.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cornstarch, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Whisk the eggs, milk, and vanilla together until combined.
- Add the softened butter to the wet ingredients 2 tablespoons at a time. Use a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or a handheld mixer to beat until just combined. The mixture will appear sandy.
- Add half the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and beat until just combined. Add the remaining wet ingredients and beat until smooth. Be careful not to over mix.
- Pour the batter evenly into the pans and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let cakes cool completely before frosting.
Cream Cheese Chantilly Frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment beat the cream cheese on high for 1 minute.
- Add the sugar and vanilla and beat for another minute.
- Pour in the heavy cream and beat on high for 3-5 minutes, or until stiff peaks form.
Assembly
- Spread a layer of frosting onto one layer of cake. Top with desired berries.
- Add the next layer of cake and repeat until all layers are frosted.
- Use the remaining frosting to decorate the outside of the cake or leave it a naked cake.
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